Tulips blooming on the south side of the house.

This past weekend we received about six inches of snow. It was enough to keep us inside for most of the weekend … we only ventured out for the essentials: groceries and cocktails at Ryan and Paula’s Oscar’s party. But as if the half foot weren’t enough just five days ago, Old Man Winter decided to dump another 8 inches on us last night and through today. Here’s a view of the street from our front door:

When I came home from work today, I couldn’t find the driveway. I had to look for the stakes that were planted by our snow plow man this fall.

The backyard is worse! Here are the paths I shoveled for Kozmo and Newman:

There are only two paths and neither takes the dogs off the deck. So, it’s no wonder Newman doesn’t like to do his business outside. Once he gets inside, he scratches his little paw on the basement door. If we let him downstairs without keeping an eye on him, we’re likely to find little treats in front of the dryer the next morning (fortunately, dry, making for easy clean-up).

More snow is in order for the rest of the night and tomorrow!

Quite some time ago I saw the following display in a Pottery Barn catalog:

I loved it so much — but decorating straight from Pottery Barn ain’t cheap. So, I waited for the metal stars to go on sale and picked up some frames from IKEA.

First things first — laying them out on the floor. (This was last July, mind you.)

Then, summer was over. Fall came and went. And finally, in the new year, it was time to do something about it. So, Roger brought home a fancy laser level and we started to map out the display on the wall. We traced the stars and the frames on wrapping paper and positioned them on the wall. Much yelling commenced.

Finally, once we got the cut-outs just right, we replaced them with the real thing:

At this point I still hadn’t figured out what photos I’d be putting in the frames. (I figured hanging them on the wall would be the kick in the butt I needed.). So, I ordered some prints online from WalMart (cheapest prints, and in-store delivery meant saving nearly $10 on shipping). They arrived Friday, and yesterday, we filled the frames:

Pretty cool! Clockwise, from upper left: Paula and Ryan’s self portrait from our vacation in the Dominican Republic; Kozmo; the lakeshore steps at our family cabin; Newman; some wildlife at the Dominican Republic; and Roger and me at Ryan and Paula’s wedding.

Each year, a local farmer by the name of Sever Peterson turns his corn field into a maze the size of 10 football fields. Yesterday afternoon, Ryan, Paula, Nick, Kristin, Roger and I “walked like an Egyptian” (this year’s maze had an ancient Egypt theme) and navigated the maze — without any of us getting lost! In fact, Ryan made it to several points in the maze without a map by simply bending over, picking up a handful of dirt, and tossing it in the air, as if the winds determined his direction. The event included more than just a maze — we enjoyed roasted corn, apple cider, mini donuts, carameled apples, kettle corn, a petting zoo, and pumpkin slinging. Despite the cold weather, the sun was out and we all had a great time. Check out the pictures of us at Sever’s Corn Maze and Fall Festival.

We don’t get too many telemarketers calling our household, and when we do they’re usually diverted because we’re habitual answering-machine screeners (family members haved learned to just say “Pick up. It’s me.”). But in case you do get trapped by the guy trying to sell you chimney sweep services (honestly, it just happened the other day), here’s a great counterscript that should make the call a little more entertaining. Or, if you’re my brother, you just repeat the word “pancakes” into the phone in a monotonous voice until the telemarketer gives up!

This week Roger and I attended the Digital SLR 1 class, provided free by National Camera and Video after the purchase of our Nikon D50. Here are the top 10 tips we took away from the class:

1. Always wear the camera strap around your neck. It’s too easy to get bumped from the side or behind and get the camera knocked out of your hands. When it drops to the ground, you’re toast.
2. When shooting in cold weather (as will happen often in Minnesota!), carry a spare battery since the batteries start to slow down — and eventually give up — when they’re cold. And, shoot without a hat or gloves. When you’re cold and you’re ready to go inside, that means your camera probably is too.
3. Don’t use the “delete all” feature in your camera’s menu system. Your pictures aren’t really erased — they’re just not viewable on the camera anymore. New data gets written on top of the old and your card gets fragmented much like a hard drive. Instead, use the “format card” option to erase your card (once you’ve downloaded the pics onto your computer, of course!).
4. Use a UV or polarzing filter for two reasons: 1) to protect your lens (your filter will break first) and 2) to get true color. A polarizing filter will make all the difference, even when shooting on what you think is a cloudy day.
5. Beware of the “GBD” — the “green box of death.” (That’s the green “auto” setting on our camera that we’ve been using since day one — oops!) Instead, use the “P” (program) setting. Also, instead of using pre-programmed settings for landscape, portraits, sports, kids and close-ups, use the S (shutter) and A (aperture) settings instead (the pre-programmed settings won’t give you any better results). This may take some practice.
6. Re-set the camera’s focus zone in the center (so that only the middle focus lights up) and use the “focus lock” technique when taking photos of subjects that are off-center (put them in the center, push down and hold the auto focus, recompose the photo, and shoot). With most cameras you can’t do this with the GBD on, so that’s another reason not to use it.
7. Looking for that soft background (otherwise known as “portrait” mode)? The higher your aperture, the more sharp your background. The lower your aperture, the softer the background.
8. Know that your built-in flash only works at about 12 feet max.  Your living room is probably longer than 12 feet.
9. Use a tripod. Follow the golden rule of thirds. Get down to your subject’s level.
10. Takes lots of photos and never delete on camera — use your computer (or TV if you’re in a hotel room — great hint!) to make judgments about what photos to keep or trash rather than choosing photos through your tiny LCD screen.

Great hints from a two-and-a-half hour class packed full of information. Digital SLR 2 is in a few weeks so we’ll post what we learned here!

Yesterday afternoon I arrived home from Portland, Ore., where I attend the 2006 WebVisions conference. I’ve posted more of my thoughts on the conference over there, but here are a few details from the trip.

• Beware of booking your trip through the Portland, Oregon Visitors Association (POVA) Web site. I booked the Portland “Big Deal” which included some city coupons and vouchers for free breakfast. I much rather would have preferred a hotel room, which I didn’t get when I arrived. (Somehow my reservation was booked for September rather than July, by no fault of my own.) Fortunately the manager at the Holiday Inn admitted their mistake and somehow found me a room in their oversold hotel. (When I got back to my room on Thursday and my key wouldn’t work, I feared, however, that I’d been kicked out and would find my belongings on the curb!)
• I had a chance to hang out with friend Kari of Mandate Media and Politics and Technology fame. We dined and drank at the cool retro Doug Fir, whose neighboring hotel, the Jupiter, claims to be the best place in Portland for your illicit affair.
• Portland gets it with the mass transit! I rode the “Max” for free all day Saturday in “Fareless Square,” from the Convention Center to Pioneer Square. Minneapolis has a long way to go.
• A trip to Portland can’t go by without a visit to Powells, one of the largest independent bookstores in the United States. I also took in the Portland Saturday Market where I shopped from unique vendors. And admittedly, I enjoyed the tax-free shopping at more familiar stores, too, in the Lloyd Center, Oregon’s largest shopping mall. (Why is it that I live 10 minutes from the nation’s largest shopping mall and still enjoy shopping the same stores in other cities?)

What a great weekend! I think if I had a choice to pick up and move anywhere in the United States, it might just be Portland.

What an odd sensation it was to be reading the newspaper over my lunch break today and come across my very own name in print, without even expecting it! In today’s Star Tribune Web search column, “Fun with photos,” columnist Randy Salas rounds up several photo-taking fun Web sites, among them, The Mirror Project:

The Mirror Project … asks contributors to submit photos of themselves as captured in reflective surfaces. The results can be winsome (Rollins Goetzel’s self-portrait in shiny sunglasses worn by his dog, Ojo), clever (Lynsey Barnett’s full-length reflection in a body-shaped mirror at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul) and breathtaking (Rebecca’s silhouette in a puddle reflecting leafless trees on Christmas Eve). I just wish the images were bigger.

There I am — Lynsey Barnett (my maiden name). The photo he refers to is here. Although the photo was taken six years ago (42 in Web years!) and I’d nearly forgotten about it, it’s proof that your internet footprints are around forever!